BOJ must shed freedom but keep the printing press
By Andy Mukherjee
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The esoteric subject of central bank independence is becoming a polarizing election issue in Japan. Both Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his rival, the Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe, want the Bank of Japan to do more to end deflation. Yet while Noda’s ideas are outmoded, his rival’s are risky.
Old hands to become China’s new finance guards
By Wei Gu
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.
China’s leadership reshuffle extends to its financial sector. The country’s central bank chief may step down after being left out of the Party’s central committee. The heads of the China’s sovereign wealth fund and Bank of China’s chairman are among the candidates for promotion. Although the state maintains a tight grip on financial matters, personal styles still matter.
China’s leadership line-up gets 6.5 out of 10
By John Foley
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The seven men who will run China’s ruling party for the next five years have a tough job. Two of them, party chief Xi Jinping and premier-in-waiting Li Keqiang, have been groomed for years, but even they are little known. Are they up to it? Breakingviews has scored them on five key criteria, and found some scope for encouragement.
Japan shuns fiscal cliff, won’t escape growth funk
By Andy Mukherjee
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Japan has avoided fiscal harakiri. The decision by the country’s opposition parties to stop blocking the government’s deficit-spending plans is a big relief for an economy that shrank by an annualised 3.5 percent in three months through Sept. 30, and is likely to contract again in the current quarter. Exports are stumbling amid weak global demand and a boycott of Japanese-made goods in China. Amidst this, government spending worth 8 percent of GDP was in jeopardy because of the parliamentary stalemate, according to Fitch.
O-Burma trip rewards reformists for job half done
By Wayne Arnold
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Barack Obama’s planned trip to Myanmar this month risks rewarding the country’s rulers for a job half-done. The visit would justifiably herald recent reforms and cultivate a key ally as U.S. foreign policy pivots to Asia. But it is sure to antagonize China’s new leaders and could reduce pressure on Myanmar to make the tougher changes it still needs.
How to make sense of China’s leadership line-up
By John Foley
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
China’s big reveal of its top party leadership deserves careful reading. A day after the Communist Party congress ends on Nov. 14, a group of suited officials will take the stage, and China-watchers will try to make sense of who’s there and who isn’t. Xi Jinping is virtually assured the top spot; the rest are less certain. Here are five clues that the new line-up of the Politburo Standing Committee might offer about China’s direction in the next decade.
Big election loser: Uncle Sam’s global status
By Edward Hadas
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
When Barack Obama entered the White House in 2009, he was the world’s darling. Politicians and citizens in many countries, not to mention the Nobel Peace Prize committee, saw an intelligent, decisive and idealistic leader. Such a man could help set the global agenda dealing with its many challenges. Four years later, expectations will be lowered.
Obama’s legacy depends on second-term compromise
By Daniel Indiviglio
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
A successful second term for U.S. President Barack Obama depends on him learning to compromise. He won’t have much time to celebrate his win over Mitt Romney before confronting a mandatory raft of tax increases and spending cuts. To avert an imminent recession, he will need to channel his predecessor Bill Clinton and bring together a divided Congress on fiscal reform. A grand bargain could assure his place in history.
QE-lenient world gives Vietnam financial pardon
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
By Wayne Arnold
Investors can’t stay mad at Vietnam. Even after a downgrade last month by rating agency Moody’s, they’re willing to lend Hanoi dollars for less. Rising exports have helped restore reserves and avert a potential balance of payments crisis, while top officials have apologised for economic mismanagement. In a world awash with cash, however, investors are all too eager to forgive and forget.
Chinese reforms could trigger domino effect
By John Foley
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
What does China want? Sustained growth, and happier citizens. How will it get there? Through economic reform. It sounds simple enough.
-
FEATURED VIDEO
-
Breakingviews: Bank boss bingoMay 17 - Breakingviews editors namecheck Wells Fargo's John Stumpf, who is venturing onto the anti-regulation soapbox, and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan, who faces a potentially contentious annual meeting.Video
-
Reuters Breakingviews: Hollande gets serious on Europe - at lastMay 17 - French President Francois Hollande's plan for a centralised euro zone 'economic government' may be premature, but it has legs argues Breakingviews.Video
ABOUT BREAKINGVIEWS
BREAKINGVIEWS ON TWITTER
Books
Breakingviews has published a selection of books for purchase and download.
LATEST TITLES
Predictions 2013: Exploring the year ahead.
Edited By Robert Cole
Bridging the Divide: The economic and fiscal challenges facing the next U.S. president
Edited By Richard Beales
